Kärdla Meteor Crater

It happened about 455 million years ago that a meteor with a diameter of about half a kilometre started moving towards the earth with the speed 30-40 km/s. The meteor went through a 100-meters thick layer of water in less that 0.1 seconds and a 140-meters thick layer of sedimentary rock and exploded with a force equal to 25,000 explosions of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The diameter of the crater is 4 km and it is one of the most remarkable ones in the world. The ring wall of the crater can be seen well from Paluküla and Tubala. In Paluküla there is a crater viewing tower. Near the viewing tower you can find a small limestone quarry which reveals the layer of limestone with its cracks.